Method for adjusting of controlling the diet and/or a person&#39;s consumption

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method for adjusting or controlling the diet and/or consumption of carbohydrates and/or fats and/or proteins of a person who is subjected to a certain physical strain taking into consideration his/her individual performance potential to be determined.

This application is a filing under 35 USC 371 of PCT/EP00/06060, filedJun. 29, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a method for adjusting or controlling thenutrition and/or consumption of carbohydrates and/or fats and/orproteins of a person who is subjected to a certain physical stress.

The invention relates in particular to a method for determiningnecessary nutrition and/or nutritional therapeutic substances forcontrolling a person's nutrition by indirectly determining his/herindividual carbohydrate, fat and protein shares in the provision ofhis/her energy level through standardized stress tests and thecontrolled consumption of such shares while taking the results that weredetermined in the standardized stress tests into consideration.

Carbohydrates, fats and proteins are substrates, which are metabolizedin the muscles for energy production, e.g. ATP production. During thetransition from a resting position to a state of strong stress, greatchanges occur in the muscle's metabolism. Due to the increased need forenergy, especially the rate of substrate conversion increasesdrastically.

In this context it is of great importance that in the muscle understress also the conversion rate ratios of the individual substrates toeach other change tremendously, i.e. the percentage of carbohydrate, fatand protein conversion in the overall substrate conversion process isregulated in the muscle as a function upon stress.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is based on the problem of developing a method of theabove-described kind in such a way that with simple measures a reliableadjustment or control of a person's nutrition and/or consumption as afunction upon the relevant stress in relation to the carbohydrate and/orfat and/or protein percentages occurs, wherein especially among peoplewho are exposed to great stress such as athletes or sick or elderlypeople a controlled adjustment of the supplied carbohydrates and/or fatsand/or proteins or the consumption occurs. According to the invention,the problem is largely resolved by the fact that for the control and/oradjustment of the person's nutrition and/or consumption his/herperformance capacity is determined by determining characteristicperformance capacity parameters and that as a function upon thedetermined performance capacity the carbohydrate and/or fat and/orprotein percentage requirements and/or consumption by the person isdetermined, by basing the calculation on the stress that is decisive fornutrition and/or consumption.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE

According to the invention it is suggested that, for controlling and/oradjusting the nutrition and/or consumption of nutrients in a person,his/her performance capacity is determined by determining characteristicperformance capacity parameters and that his/her need for and/orconsumption of carbohydrates and/or fats and/or proteins in his/her foodis determined as a function upon the determined performance capacity ofthe person, basing the calculation on stress-specific substrate mixtureratios that are decisive for nutrition and/or consumption. Substratemixture ratios should be interpreted as the carbohydrate and/or fatand/or protein percentages.

In particular the invention provides for the fact that for the purposeof determining the performance capacity of the person the heart rateand/or blood pressure and/or ergospirometric parameters and/or lactateconcentration in the blood is measured or determined as a function uponthe stress.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a scaling to a lactateaccumulation rate ΔA occurs for the purpose of determining theperformance capacity above the individual anaerobic threshold, whereinin particular the lactate accumulation rate ΔA is used as a basis fordetermining the nutrition and/or consumption of the person in relationto his/her protein percentage from glucogenic amino acids.

A method for determining the lactate accumulation rate ΔA ischaracterized by the following procedural steps:

measuring the time-dependent lactate concentrate change beyond theindividual anaerobic threshold,

adjusting a measurement curve to measurement values gained this way, inwhich the lactate concentrate in relation to time is entered,

determining a first gradient in the measurement curve at a time t_(IAT)that corresponds to the individual anaerobic threshold,

determining at least one additional gradient in the measurement curve ata time t_(x) with t_(x)>t_(IAT)

subtracting the second gradient from the first gradient to determine adifference, which represents the lactate accumulation rate ΔA.

In order to be able to provide information about the stress-specificregulation of the substrate metabolism of test subjects, initially theperformance capacity stress ability of these test subjects must bedetermined with a standardized test, which allows the possibility ofestimating the aerobic/anaerobic transition. Such tests can be conductedwith various methods.

For determination of the performance capacity, different stress typescan be applied such as running tests, swimming tests, stepping tests,ergometry methods, e.g. bicycle, treadmill, rowing ergometry withgradual and/or continuous stress increase, performed with or withoutbreaks.

Alternatively, the following parameters, which can be measured ordeduced from the measurement parameters, can be used to determine theperformance capacity:

heart rate (HF) under stress

HF max (with stress)

HF submax (anaerobic-aerobic transition: Conconi test)

HF related performance (physical working capacity)

HF related oxygen intake

blood pressure (RR)

stress blood pressure (systolic)

blood pressure amplitude

ergospirometric parameters

minute volume (AMV)

oxygen intake (VO₂)

maximum VO₂ (VO₂ max)

respiration rate (AF)

carbon dioxide emission (VCO₂)

respiratory equivalent (AÄ=AMV/VO₂)

oxygen pulse (VO₂/HF)

acid/base status, pH value

respiratory quotient (RQ)

ventilatory equivalent for CO₂ and O₂

anaerobic threshold (according to Wasserman)

individual anaerobic threshold (according to Stegmann)

lactate concentrate in blood

IATs according to Stegmann

ΔA according to Stegmann

Lactate threshold concepts with fixed lactate concentration andgradients

model-related parameters deduced from the lactate curve parametersdeduced from lactate curve and ergospirometric data.

The most exact method however is the determination of the lactateperformance curve in the graduated test with determination of theindividual anaerobic threshold according to Stegmann (IATs) as well asthe IATs-adjusted lactate accumulation rate ΔA.

The lactate performance curve of a human being can be changed only veryslowly through training and/or lifestyle. From its course, informationcan therefore be deducted about the performance and training behavior ofa human being over an extended period of time, i.e. the lactateperformance curve of a person can be interpreted as “medium-term memory”of his/her lifestyle.

In relation to the IATs and the ΔA value of a test subject and withconsideration of the above-described explanations, the following generalstatements with regard to the carbohydrate, fat and protein consumptionof a test subject under stress can be made (ΔA_(max)=largestdeterminable ΔA value in a test subject)

Stress Intensity Duration CH Fat Protein Start and graduated start veryshort [s] + ++ +++ > IATs, ΔA -> ΔA_(max) short [≦ min] + ++ +++ > IATs,ΔA << ΔA_(max) short [6–10 min] ++ ++ ++ ≦ IATs short [> 2 min] ++ ++ +≦ IATs medium [< 60 min] ++ ++ + ≦ IATs long [> 60 min] ++ +++ ++

The relative stress intensities and stress duration periods, to which aperson is exposed e.g. in his/her daily life or during sportsactivities, therefore regulate the ratios of carbohydrate, fat andprotein percentages in his/her nutrient consumption. These ratios areshown as a rough outline in the above table. These results can beapplied directly for the development of required formula nutrition ornutritional therapeutics that have been adjusted to the individualperformance capacity so as to avoid nutritional deficiencies.

When adjusted to the individual anaerobic threshold and/or the adjustedlactate accumulation rate ΔA, the need for carbohydrate, fat and proteinpercentages as a function upon stress intensity and stress duration—inaccordance with the table—offers the possibility to expose a testsubject to stress in such a controlled manner that carbohydrates and/orfat percentages are used in the desired scope.

The method according to the invention thus represents a connectionbetween knowledge about stress-specific substrate consumption, i.e.carbohydrate, fat and protein consumption of a person, and thepossibility to evaluate this specificity based on performance tests andto deduce individual nutritional recommendations or control thesubstrate consumption through appropriate selection of training modes.

1. Method for adjusting nutrition in a person subjected to physicalstress, comprising the steps of: determining performance capacity of theperson by determining individual anaerobic threshold of the person andmeasuring lactate accumulation rate ΔA at and above the individualanaerobic threshold; determining a stress state of the person inrelation to the measured individual anaerobic threshold and measuredlactate accumulation rate ΔA; and regulating at least one of fat,protein and carbohydrate consumption of the person as a function of thedetermined stress state, individual anaerobic threshold and lactateaccumulation rate, wherein the step of determining the lactateaccumulation rate ΔA comprises the steps of: measuring time-dependentlactate concentration change beyond the individual anaerobic threshold,plotting a measurement curve of measured lactate concentration inrelation to time, determining a first gradient in the measurement curveat a time t_(IAT) that corresponds to the individual anaerobicthreshold, determining at least one second gradient in the measurementcurve at a time t_(x) with t_(x)>t_(IAT); and subtracting the secondgradient from the first gradient to determine a difference, whichrepresents the lactate accumulation rate ΔA.
 2. Method according toclaim 1, wherein the stress occurs in a person over an extended periodof time below the determined individual anaerobic threshold, and the fatand the carbohydrate percentage of the nutrition are adjustedcomparatively higher than the protein percentage.
 3. Method according toclaim 1, wherein the stress occurs with a lactate accumulation rate ΔAapproaching ΔA_(max), and the protein percentage of the nutrition isadjusted up to several times as with stress at ΔA=0.
 4. Method accordingto claim 1, wherein the performance capacity is determined under astress selected from the group consisting of a running test, a swimmingtest, a stepping test and ergometry with graduated or continuous stressincrease with and without breaks.